Dreams of the Heart
by Dreamlight
Summary: Two years after FFX, in replacement of FFX2. A lost friend has returned just in time to help save Spira... again. ::Chapter 3: Learning to use the Garment Grid can be difficult, and Tidus discovers this the hard way::
1. The Return

_Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X._

**_Author's notes:_**_ Anything in **bold** is Al Bhed._

_This story is Final Fantasy X-2 but with an incredible amount of twists, such as Tidus being one of the main characters. It's not longer YRP but TRYP. Enjoy!_

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"3…2... 1..." The audience shouted as one voice, pounding the air as each word left their mouths. "Zero!"

A woman wearing a white dress stood upon the platform and opened her eyes, one green, one blue, and walked towards the middle. A white light surrounded her and music played in the background, after the light faded the woman wore a new outfit consisting of revealing layers of blue and black. The audience roared their approval and the woman's voice joined the music.

"What can I do for you?" She sang, swaying her body back and forth in rhythm.

None noticed two women sneaking in the concert, except for the guards.

"Hey!" One of the entrance guards growled. One of the women, a short blonde, gave a wink and the other, a light black haired woman, hit him with the handle of her sword while he was distracted.

"Hay is for Chocobo's!" the blonde joked as the guard hit the floor. When the other girl didn't even crack a smile the blonde got frustrated. "Come on Paine! It was funny!"

"I don't know who taught you funny, Rikku, but that wasn't it," Paine replied. "Now hide this guard's body, I'm going after the thief."

"Right Dr. P!" Rikku saluted and dragged the guard into another room. Paine sighed and placed her hand on the bridge where her nose met her forehead.

"Don't call me that," She said, but Rikku didn't hear. Paine lowered her hand and jogged to the concert, tossing a wave to Rikku to let her know she'd left. Rikku, after hiding the body, walked out of the room and raised the hidden microphone to her lips. "Y R P….in position….Let's go girls." She then followed Paine's path, walking onto a balcony and waiting for a floating guitarist to swing by. Rikku took out a pair of binoculars and zoomed in on the singer, waving her finger in beat with the music. Just because she was on a mission didn't mean she couldn't have fun-

"What're you doing?" A masculine voice questioned from behind her. 

-Or maybe she couldn't. Rikku turned around and gave the guard a weak smile, one she hoped would disarm his defenses. When he continued to glare she resorted to Plan B: Beat the tar out of him. With a quick punch to his face and a follow-up to the stomach, there was an unconscious guard at her feet. She smiled to herself and resumed watching the concert. Meanwhile Paine had her own guard problems as she walked in. The guard pointed his baton at her and charged, but he'd made the mistake of underestimating Paine and was rewarded with an instant nap from a powerful kick. As Paine brushed off her hands Rikku flew by on one of the guitarists floats. Perfect timing as the singer had just finished her song when Rikku and Paine landed in front of her.

"Give it back!" Rikku yelled, but the singer merely smiled as two men in armor marched in front of her.

"You want in on this number? She said to the men. "Then show me your moves!"

Their moves, unfortunately for them, only seemed to be falling to the ground sleeping. Then again, when two angry women with weapons knock them out there's not many moves to learn.

"I could dance all night," Paine taunted.

"Sorry!" The singer's voice had changed, now becoming high and shrill, irritating Paine. "No room for an encore!" With that said a bright light flashed and she used it as a distraction to run, but Rikku and Paine had expected something like this and followed with their eyes covered. When the flash faded they uncovered their eyes and continued their chase.

"Hold still!" Rikku whined as she ran. All she wanted was the sphere the woman had stolen, not to run a marathon. Oddly dressed people lined themselves up in front of Rikku and Paine, obviously trying to stop them.

"Pathetic," Paine said as she stepped over the bodies. "These weren't hired for quality."

"Quantity works too!" Rikku said, trying to regain her breath. "They're trying to slow us down."

"No whining," Paine ordered and continued the chase. Rikku followed and for a few minutes they chased the thief.

"Hey, you run too fast!" Rikku yelled.

"You're too slow little girl," An accented voice said. Rikku turned around in surprise to see a man with a set of guns as the source. 

"Show's over!" A fat man with a shield on his back laughed loudly, marching up to the revolver-wielding man.

"Yeowch," Rikku winced. These two seemed a lot tougher than the regulars she'd been fighting. 

"This way!" Paine commanded, running. Rikku nodded and followed. Unfortunately the men gave chase, but were stopped by a woman shooting at them with a pair of guns. She leaped up and flipped over them, landing next to Rikku and Paine.

"Yunie!" Rikku shouted with glee.

"Good timing Yuna," Paine said.

"Where's the imposter?!" Yuna demanded from the two guards. She didn't like the fact that a woman had taken the songstress outfit and pretended to be her in front of thousands of people.

The men, who'd hunched over to dodge the bullets, now stood up with weapons ready.

"She defeated Sin, Logos," The fat man said quietly. "How can we beat her?"

"Quiet Ormi," Logos hushed. "Do you want the heel?"

"That's quite enough sniveling boys," The singer, who looked exactly like Yuna, said, walking up to them. She aimed a glare at the three in front of her. "Persistent aren't you?"

"Leblanc?" Logos raised his eyebrows.

"Boss?" Ormi mirrored his partner's expression. 

"My grid?" Yuna demanded, holding out her hand.

"You give us Yunie's garment grid right now!" Rikku ordered.

"Didn't you girls ever learn to share?" The imposter said mockingly.

"Give it back!" Yuna said through clenched teeth. The imposter shrugged.

"Very well, it's yours," She said, tossing the sphere to them. Almost as soon as Yuna cought it the imposter whipped out a fan and changed back to what she normally looked like; a blonde woman with an odd purplish dress and a heart on her cleavage. "But it won't be yours for long loves!"

Yuna changed into her songstress outfit and immediately began her dancing spell of darkness, causing a black cloud to cover Ormi, Logos, and Leblanc. They all aimed attacks at YRP, but in the end managed to only hit each other, and, after landing blows on only themselves, decided to run away.

"I won't let you off so easily next time!" Leblanc yelled before running into a wall. Ormi grabbed and carried her over his shoulder, before plowing into Logos, who'd been going the wrong way. They all ended up falling into the water near the docking port of Luca. Rikku laughed loudly, clutching her sides.

"Rikku, look," Paine's voice interrupted her mirth. Rikku turned to see Yuna dancing.

"Hey! What?" Yuna was saying, but her body continued dancing. Time froze for all except Yuna as a woman with long brown hair and matching eyes appeared in front of her. A voice rang in her head:

_Help me find my love and I'll give you yours._

"What-who are you?" Yuna took a step back.

_It's of no importance, not yet at least. I'm here to offer you something, your Tidus will be revived if you help me._

Tidus; Yuna's first and only love. She'd become a sphere hunter after finding a record of him, hoping to find more.

"What do you want me to do?" Yuna asked.

_Gagazet…_ The woman began to fade. Yuna gasped.

"No wait!"

_Don't worry, I'll be back…so will Tidus._ She faded completely and time resumed again. Yuna didn't know what to think when she saw the ship Brother flew land near her. Rikku and Paine walked on it, but Yuna lingered a bit, hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman who'd promised something she'd do anything for.

"Come on Yunie!" Rikku called out. Yuna turned a gave a little smile to Rikku before hopping onto the ship.

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself!" Rikku nudged Yuna as they entered the bridge.

"Yeah…" Yuna said quietly.

"You did get back the Garment Grid?" The little boy on a computer asked.

"Of course!" Rikku posed dramatically and Yuna joined her.

"Don't worry Shinra," Paine said to the boy. "You're invention is fine, but I'd like to know why it let Leblanc look exactly like Yuna."

"I don't think it was exactly alike!" Yuna protested. Shinra ignored her.

"I can't really say." He said.

"But it's you're invention," The man at the navigation controls, Buddy, said.

Shinra stood up in his seat and faced them. "I'm just a kid," He shrugged. Brother coughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

"Dancing Yuna?" He asked in disbelief. "I want to see!"

Yuna giggled. "It'll cost you!"

"One moment…" Brother began checking his pockets.

Paine sighed and placed her hand on her brow. "She's kidding."

"What? No dance?" Before Brother could make a bigger fool of himself the computers began beeping. "**New data!**** Gullwings to your stations!"**

Rikku, Buddy, and Brother ran to their part of the bridge and Paine turned to Yuna.

"We're going to have to wait until Buddy gets some more info, go ahead and rest a bit," She said. Yuna nodded and left the bridge, heading towards the cabin. She greeted Barkeep, the blue Hypello, and laid down on one of the beds. Sighing to herself, she closed her eyes and relaxed.

"**A sphere's been found on Gagazet! Yuna come to the bridge!**" Brother's voice came over the intercom. 

No rest for the Gullwings. Yuna ran back to the bridge.

"We've got a sphere on the sacred ruins of Mt. Gagazet," Buddy typed on the keyboard while explaining to Yuna. Rikku looked out the window.

"We've gotta climb that?" She whined.

"Of course not!" Brother chimed in. "We'll fly to the top, head to the engine room. I'll tell you when to get off." YRP nodded and all three ran to the room.

"What kinda sphere do you think it is?" Rikku asked as they went down the lift.

"We'll find out when we get to it," Paine said, ending the conversation before it started.

"**Jump onto the platform below**!" Brother's voice rang out.

"He wants us to jump out," Rikku translated, pointing to the walkway below the ship…_way_ below the ship. Yuna 'eeped a little as Paine leaped off, but she landed perfectly. Rikku didn't fair as well and managed to fall on her butt, otherwise she was okay. Yuna took a deep breath and followed suit, landing with a bit of a stumble, but better than Rikku had. Unfortunately, Yuna looked down. Her eyes widened and she felt incredibly dizzy, legs collapsing underneath her.

"Yuna!" Rikku and Paine said at the same time, holding onto her before she fell.

"I'm…fine…" Yuna said softly.

"What's going on?" Brother shouted over the com. "Is everything okay?"

"Disasterrific!" Rikku shouted back.

"Disasterrific is not a word! Say disastrous like the rest of Spira!" Brother critiqued. Rikku rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Yuna's shoulder.

"You okay now?" She asked her cousin. Yuna nodded and stood up.

"Absolutely!" She did her best to avoid looking down.

"This way," Paine led the way across the ruins, jumping over eroded parts until they reached a fallen bridge.

"We're not getting across this way," Rikku groaned.

"Let's find another route," Paine suggested. They headed down some stairs and into a seemingly empty room.

"A dead end," The red-eyed woman stated.

"Just great!" Rikku sighed. A glowing emblem caught Yuna's attention.

"Think this Machina still works?" She walked over to it and looked closely.

"Wait!" Paine said, but her cry came too late as Yuna pressed it. Immediately the section of the floor they stood on began to lower.

"I wonder how safe this is…" Yuna said nervously, despite having pressed the button. Paine sighed as the floor continued down. Rikku grinned and held up the victory sign. All good feelings disappeared though as the floor gave a mighty rumble and fell the rest of the way down, leaving a trail of screams from the three women on it. Eventually it landed, only bruising Yuna's dignity and Rikku's rump.

"It stopped," Yuna said in relief.

"Owie…" Rikku rubbed her injured area.

"Yuna, don't just press the button next time," Paine said. Yuna rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," She said. Rikku stood up and Paine continued to lead on the path, but before getting very far they heard a cry of pain.

"Who's there?" Yuna called out. Leblanc and her sidekicks, Ormi and Logos, fell from a ledge in a giant heap. Leblanc quickly got up and put a hand on her mouth to cover a laugh.

"Er, Leblanc!" She said, brushing herself off. "Remember that name well loves!"

Rikku imitated Paine by putting her hand on her brow.

"Don't do that," Paine ordered. Rikku saluted.

 "Maybe she'll go away if we ignore her," Yuna suggested.

"Don't ignore me!" Leblanc screeched, causing everyone to wince. "Amateurs."

"Amateurs?" Paine scoffed. "Weren't you following us?"

"Following?" Leblanc laughed. "Mere coincidence is more like it!" With a groan Ormi and Logos got up, and, upon noticing YRP, grinned as evilly as they could.

"You was right Boss," Ormi laughed.

"Indeed!" Logos agreed. "Following them has paid off splendidly." Yuna, Rikku, and even Paine laughed at hearing this. Leblanc's face flushed.

"Laugh, while you can," Leblanc threw down an object and a bright light blinded them.

"She's getting hurt," Paine said while coughing.

"She's gone!" Yuna exclaimed after the light had died down. Rikku growled and took off after them.

"Rikku wait!" Yuna and Paine yelled before chasing their friend. When they'd gotten close, Logos walked out of a doorway in front of them.

"You look a bit flushed, why don't you catch your breath?" Logos aimed at Rikku, who raised her arms to protect herself, and fired three times, before running off.

"Rikku!" Paine and Yuna yelled. A sword appeared in front of Rikku and blocked the bullets, then disappeared. 

"What was that?" Yuna asked herself. That sword had looked familiar, but it moved too fast. She'd only been able to see a blur once it began moving.

"Grrr!" Rikku growled. "Let's get them!" And, once again, she took off, leaving Paine and Yuna to give chase.

"Rikku please wait!" Yuna yelled. Paine had now caught up to her, but was joining the chase instead of stopping it.

"You know how I hate the damp!" Leblanc's voice carried through the cave Yuna'd entered.

"Sorry boss," Ormi and Logos echoed. At least she knew they were close, but the ex-summoner still needed to catch up to her friends first. Was she that out of shape? Oustide of the tunnel now, she could see Ormi confronting her friends.

"Better show the ladies a nice welcome!" Ormi laughed, throwing a grenade at them and running away. Before the grenade had landed, the sword appeared again and knocked it away and off the path. Rikku and Paine chased after Ormi, but Yuna stayed behind.

_Twice now that sword has appeared. Is it a guardian of Gagazet? No, Kimahri would've mentioned it._ Yuna's thoughts were interrupted as screams pierced her ears. Yuna broke the record of any speed she'd set running to help her friends, but when she arrived she saw that somehow Ormi, Logos, and Leblanc had fallen off a ledge and were hanging on for dear life. Rikku and Paine were debating whether to help, leave them, or give them a nudge.

"Would-would you stop staring?" Leblanc demanded. Yuna shrugged and headed up to her friends.

"Thanks for waiting!" Yuna said sarcastically. Rikku smiled weakly and Paine shrugged.

"We're right next to the sphere, it's inside," Paine pointed to the building near them. Yuna sighed.

"Okay, let's go get it," The thought of a sphere drove out the sword from her mind. When they entered a strange mist was inside, sending chills down the Gullwing's spines.

"Look out!" Yuna cried out, pointing towards a large spider-looking monster.

"It figures we'd run into something like this," Rikku whimpered.

"Find a sphere and the fiends appear," Paine commented, drawing her skull-engraved sword. The spider fell off the ceiling and landed in front of them, roaring. Paine immediately leaped at it, weaving through it's attacks and hitting it with her sword. Rikku followed suit, but Yuna stayed back and fired her guns at it, making sure not to hurt her partners. She thought she saw the mysterious sword appear and strike a few blows, but she dismissed it. Eventually the monster fell and pyreflies came from it.

"We beat it!" Yuna did a victory pose.

"An empty victory," Paine deadpanned. The door behind the monster opened, revealing a sphere…and the clouded figure of a man. His hair was obviously spiky, but when he stepped into the light it was revealed to be blonde. His blue eyes locked with Yuna's.

"This is what you've been doing the two years I've been gone?" He chuckled. Yuna hesitantly stepped forward, not sure if it was _him_.

"T-Tidus?" She asked hesitantly.

"I'm home Yuna," He said. Yuna immediately bolted to him and threw herself into his arms, almost knocking him over.

"You're here to stay?" She asked, burying her head into his chest. 

"Yeah," Tidus said. Rikku grinned nice and big, but Paine just looked confused.

"I'll explain later," Rikku said to Paine, who nodded.

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_The first chapter of FFX-2: TRYP. Yes, it was rushed, but I wanted Tidus in there ASAP. The next chapters will be done much better so I hope to have faithful readers. Please don't flame, if you don't like it tell me why and what I should do to fix it. If you just say "This story sucks, I don't think Yuna would do this, blah blah blah." Then don't bother reviewing. Those who want me to update though, do review._


	2. Exploration

_I'm stil alive. Yeah, it's taken me long enough, I know. I had my reasons. Hope you enjoy the story._

One note, I wrote this on my new Mac laptop and the Microsoft Word for it combined with the errors already on this Fanfiction site just made a whole bunch of errors. I edited them as best I could, but some still got through I'm sure. Sorry.

Hope you enjoy the story.

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Leblanc limped into the chamber where Tidus and Yuna hugged and groaned when she saw what was happening.

"I'm going to puke from all this lovey-dovey stuff," Leblanc turned around to Ormi and Logos. "Let's go you two."

"Hey boss, you cryin'?" Ormi's voice rang through the entrance. A loud whap and a cry of pain was all that was heard before silence throughout the chamber returned.

Rikku and Paine watched Yuna and Tidus, Rikku with misty eyes and Paine with confusion. The ex-summoner sobbed softly onto Tidus's chest and he rested his head upon hers, crying a little as well.

Rikku sighed. "Yuna without Tidus is like a fish without gills." Paine looked like she was going to be ill. Rikku pouted. "Hey that was a good one!" Paine shook her head and sighed.

"Let's go get that sphere," Paine suggested, hoping to change the subject. Rikku nodded and they both left to the next room, leaving the couple to themselves.

"How... ?" Yuna asked, removing her head from Tidus's chest to look at his face. He shrugged.

"The aeons," Tidus explained. "They gave me a choice; stay in the Farplane or come back and help you. It wasn't a hard choice."

"I'm glad you chose the second," Yuna joked weakly. Tidus gave a small chuckle.

"So does that mean that sword was yours?" Yuna asked. The other nodded and held out his right hand, where a red sword that had an almost 'J' shape appeared.

"My first sword, the one Auron gave me," Tidus said. "I wasn't fully _here_ yet, so I did the best I could."

"Yeah," Yuna hugged him tightly and he returned the favor.

"Ahem," Paine coughed. Yuna turned her head to face the gray-haired woman.

"It's a sphere!" Rikku pumped her fist in the air. Tidus raised an eyebrow.

"Sphere?" He asked. Yuna laughed and pressed her head to his chest.

"I'll explain it all to you when we get back," She reluctantly separated herself from him when a large ship flew to the building they were in, blowing wind everywhere. Rikku waved her arms at it.

"Brother! Mission accomplished!" She shouted. A bit of static feedback answered her before Buddy's voice came through the speakers.

"Brother? He's not with you?" He asked.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Idiot!" Rikku resisted the temptation to kick the mildly injured Brother.

"He said something about Yuna being in trouble then he just jumped ship," Buddy explained as Tidus and Yuna, who'd walked slowly from the engine room, entered the bridge where everyone else waited. Tidus shook his head in amusement, same old Brother.

"He was alive right?" Rikku asked. "Why didn't you just leave him there?" Everyone except Paine and Brother chuckled.

"Can you analyze the sphere we found?" The mirthless woman asked Shinra. The Al-Bhed child grabbed the glowing ball she held for him and ran to his computer.

"I'm on it," He said. The crew gathered around him and watched the monitor. Shinra quickly typed some things on the keyboard. "Analysis complete." He looked around. "Anybody wanna watch a sphere?" Collective nods were his answer.

A static filled image appeared on the large monitor, in the background it was possible to make out a city filled with towers of never-ending lights.

"Zanarkand... " Tidus whispered.

The scene focused on the buildings for a few seconds, but then changed to a new area where a crowd stood. A male voice was talking. "I can't believe I got tickets! Such an honor to shake her hand like that." Then the sphere stopped.

"Think it's worth anything?" Yuna asked.

"Well... it's not very exciting," Rikku commented.

Paine rolled her eyes. "Junk." With that said she walked off.

Tidus shook his head, trying to clear the nostalgia he'd just felt. "Whatever works for you guys... er... girls."

Shinra turned in his seat to face them. "But it can still be used as a dressphere. It's holds the power of a Black Mage."

As soon as that was said the lights in the ship started flashing red and an alarm sounded loudly.

"New data! Everyone to your stations," Buddy shouted. "Brother, how long do you plan on lying there?"

With that said Brother jumped to his feet and ran to the navigation port. **_Excuse_ me**. He stated.

"What is it?" Yuna asked, dragging Tidus with her as she walked over to Buddy.

"The treasure sphere data you've been dying for," The tanned man replied. "At least one on Besaid Island."

Tidus felt Yuna tremble nervously at the mention of Besaid, but decided to wait until later to ask.

"And another in the Zanarkand Ruins, but I'd advise against that one yet. There's a high amount of monsters being shown there," Buddy continued. This time it was Tidus who shivered.

"So where to?!" Rikku asked excitedly. Yuna placed a hand on her chin, pretending to think hard.

"Kilika Island!" She exclaimed. Buddy sighed.

"That's not a hotspot," He explained.

"So?" Yuna shrugged. Buddy groaned.

"No point arguing with you," He commented. With that said Tidus and YRP ran to the engine room.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"_This_ is Kilika?" Tidus asked in wonder. Yuna nodded with a grin.

"Yup," She said. "They rebuilt after Sin a while ago, you just... weren't here to see it."

"The Youth League rebuilt it, it's quite a popular town now!" Rikku piped in.

"Even New Yevon decided to get its hooks in it as well," Paine followed suit. "Signs of trouble are definitely appearing since the Youth League and New Yevon don't particularly get along."

"Oh... " Tidus nodded. Before he could ask anything else, Yuna grabbed his hand and ran off.

"Let's go visit Dona!" She exclaimed.

"Summoner Dona?" Tidus tried asking while trying to regain his footing.

"Yep, she lives here now," Yuna explained. Tidus finally managed to keep his balance and catch up with her. "And it's Ex-Summoner now."

"What about Rikku and Paine?" He asked.

"They're gonna go shopping!"

- - - - - - - - - - -

"We have enough potions Rikku," Paine said, exasperated. Rikku nodded and held up an antidote.

"What about these?" She asked.

"There's nothing here we can't get on the ship," Paine stated. "Why must we shop here?"

"You're right!" Rikku gasped. "Let's go shop for clothes!"

"Where's a monster when you need one?" Paine groaned to the sky as the ever-energized Rikku dragged her off.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"We're here!" Yuna said as they neared the house. A large man being thrown out of the building interrupted Tidus's comment.

"Dona!" Barthello pleaded.

"My, my, my... " Dona's voice came from inside the house. "Fine have it your way, leave me now."

"Dona!" Barthello called again.

"Now!" She exclaimed. Barthello leaned against the doorframe for a second, as if hoping Dona would change her mind, but when no such change was made he ran off crying. Tidus leaped out of the way before getting trampled and Yuna giggled.

"He didn't even notice us," Tidus complained. Yuna walked up to the door and knocked on the wooden poles outside. Dona came out and looked at the ex-High Summoner.

"Well, look who we have here," She smirked. "Come on in."

"'Kay," Yuna started to follow. "But can my friend come to?" Dona waved a hand as if it didn't matter.

"Sure why not," She said, not even looking behind her. Yuna winked at Tidus and he walked inside with her.

"Good to see you," Yuna said. Dona chuckled.

"What's with Barthello?" Tidus asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Dona replied, not even looking at the source, but gazing out the window. "I'm with the Youth League and he is with New Yevon.... it adds a strain to living in the same house."

"But you've been together so long," Yuna commented. Tidus raised his eyebrows in surprise. The last he'd seen them Dona looked as if she could barely stand Barthello, two years changed a lot of things.

"I'm going to have to ask you to butt out," Dona said coldly. Tidus chuckled, now that was the Dona he remembered. "There's the door, now use it." Not once did she turn to them.

"We'd better go," Yuna said to Tidus, who nodded in agreement.

"Later," Tidus called to her as they left. Only then did Dona turn, but there was no sign of anyone.

"That voice... it sounded familiar," Shrugging, she walked to her bed and sat upon it. "Barthello..."

- - - - - - - - - - -

"It'll look cute on you!" Rikku whined. "C'mon!" Paine closed one eye and looked at her blonde counterpart.

"You want to be hurt don't you?" She asked. Rikku gulped and put the pink dress away. "Maybe we should just go find Yunie." Paine suppressed a smile.

"Best idea you've had all day."

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Yuna, what's wrong?' Tidus asked. Yuna looked at him, confused.

"We could've gone to Besaid, but you chose Kilika. I can't help but think you're avoiding something," He explained. Yuna sighed.

"I... ran away from Besaid to become a sphere hunter," She said.

"Oh... " Tidus put on a thoughtful look, and then he burst out laughing. "You've changed."

"Wha-hey!" Yuna pouted. Tidus laughed harder, and Yuna eventually joined.

"Did I miss something?" The stoic tone of Paine interrupted their joyous moment. Rikku waved her arms.

"I'm bored, let's go!" She said. Yuna nodded.

"Race you to the ship," Tidus nudged Rikku and Yuna. They all laughed and turned to Paine.

"I'll guard the flank," She deadpanned. Tidus shrugged and turned to face the girls, who'd run off.

"Cheaters!" He yelled, running to catch up with them.

"Kids," Paine scoffed, allowing a small smile escape.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Mushroom Rock Road," Yuna said softly. Tidus looked around with a somber expression.

"This was where that fight with Sin... " His voice cut off and he shook his head. "No need for grieving! Let's go!" He pointed straight ahead, causing Yuna to giggle.

"That's the wrong way," She said. Tidus rubbed the back of his and chuckled.

"Heh, oops," He said bashfully. "Getting off a ship instead of walking on the path throws my sense of direction off."

"I'd bet it wouldn't to the fridge," Rikku laughed, poking Tidus in the stomach.

"H-hey, watch it!"

"Can hardly do anything else, that thing's huge," Paine stated in a monotone voice, walking along the path. Yuna giggled while following.

"I-I'm not fat!" Tidus ran after them. "I've been dead for two years, I didn't even have a body! C'mon!"

They continued on the path until they noticed two familiar figures.

"It's those creeps again!" Rikku growled, pointing at the retreating figures of Logos and Ormi.

"Maybe there's a sphere here," Paine said thoughtfully. Yuna ran a few feet, before turning to her friends.

"It's our turn to do the following," She winked. Rikku grinned, Paine nodded, and Tidus shrugged, but all agreed and followed the duo they'd spotted. Ormi and Logos had a fairly large head start on them and by the time they got anywhere near the two they were stopped by a group of soldiers.

"Attention!" A helmeted man bellowed as Tidus and YRP walked to them. The soldiers in front of him stood at attention. The man turned around and looked at Yuna surprised.

"It's good to see you again Lady Yuna," The youth brought his arm across his chest in a salute. "You haven't forgotten me have you?"

"Who's this guy?" Tidus whispered in her ear. Yuna held up a hand.

"Of course not," Yuna replied. "Yaibal, isn't it? You're in the Youth League."

"You really do remember me!" Yaibal exclaimed giddily. "I am truly honored, Lady Yuna!"

"Looks like he's gonna pee his pants," Rikku whispered to Tidus, who snorted out a failed attempt to suppress his laugh. Fortunately, Yaibal seemed not to hear them and continued.

"Since that day we first spoke, the Youth League has been conducting a sphere hung of it's own," Yaibal explained. He ran to the soldiers and walked in front of each, making sure they were still at attention. "We, the Youth League... " He looked over to a short man in worn armor. "Hm... Clasko, take it from here."

Clasko cleared his throat. "W-we, the Y-Youth League, to better o-our understanding of S-Spira's past, vow to remain v-vigilant in our search... " He paused to think for a second. "For ruins and spheres."

"Did Leblanc's men pass through here?" Paine asked, not bothering to wait for them to finish their introduction.

"Why... yes, they said they were to take care of our fiend problem," Yaibal explained. "You see, the Youth League is in Preparation for and important operation, leaving our patrols shorthanded, as a result the road to headquarters has been overrun with fiends."

"Man he likes to hear himself talk," Tidus whispered to Rikku, who giggled lightly. Once again, Yaibal paid them no mind and continued talking.

"Be warned; unless you can defeat the fiends on the road, you will not be able to pass," He continued. "So, are you ready to run the gauntlet?"

Yuna shrugged. "Sure, we're game."

The youth saluted again. "Understood. Expect to encounter Fiends until you reach the lift, fight your way through them and proceed to headquarters."

"For some reason he talks and all I hear is 'blah blah blah'," Rikku joked, extending her fingers and flapping whenever she said 'blah'. Tidus snorted again and Paine rolled her eyes.

"That's all," Yaibal said. "Good luck!"

"_Finally_," Rikku and Tidus said together, a little louder than they'd meant. Tidus rubbed the back of his head while Rikku smiled meekly and waved when everyone turned to glare at them.

Sighing Yaibal waved a hand. "Clasko? Show them the way!" He ordered, gently but firm at the same time.

"O-of course," Clasko said, running in front of Tidus and YRP. "This way please."

Tidus and Rikku pumped their fists in the air. "Fiend huntin' time!"

Yuna giggled while Paine rolled her eyes again. They all followed the one-time Chocobo Knight.

"Th-this is the path," Clasko pointed a finger. Yuna looked at Clasko.

"You seem down," She commented.

"Well a lot has happened since you brought us the calm," Clasko explained. "I ended up following Captain Lucil. When she joined the Youth League, so did I, but I'm _still_ stuck playing tour guide."

"I'm sorry," Yuna patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"You know, all I want is to ride on a Chocobo... faster than the wind!" Clasko seemed to have some life breathed back into him upon the discussion of Chocobos.

"Then why don't you?" Tidus asked. Yuna winced, knowing the reaction he was bound to get.

"Why indeed," Clasko murmured. Yuna blinked in surprise.

"You're... not surprised to see him?" She asked. Clasko shook his head.

"Should I be?" Clasko replied. "I mean, I know you're not a summoner anymore, but having a Guardian around couldn't hurt."

"Let's go Yuna," Paine grabbed her shoulder. "Mission time."

"R-right," The ex-summoner replied. Clasko waved to them.

"Good luck," He called. When they reached The Gauntlet they began a discussion.

"Why wasn't Clasko surprised to see Tidus?" Yuna asked. Tidus shrugged.

"I wasn't like famous or anything," He said. "How many people even know about me? Or that I 'died'?"

"A lot," Paine droned. "There's a lot of statues of you floating around, and there're posters of you in the Blitzball stadium."

"Statues? Of me?" Tidus blinked, confused.

"In the temple at Bevelle, the one where Bahamut was, they have a statue of you along with the other High Summoners," Rikku explained. "And at Zanarkand, and even Besaid."

"Why? I wasn't a Summoner," Tidus was really confused.

Yuna blushed awkwardly, placing her hands behind her back and looking to the floor. "I wanted them to... place a statue next to mine," Yuna said bashfully. "You're the reason we didn't use a Final Aeon, and because of that we permanently defeated Sin, and I... I felt they should acknowledge that."

"We have a task to do," Paine interrupted. "Let us stop getting distracted."

"Right! Clasko always has Chocobos on his mind anyways, he probably didn't even know Tidus was dead," Rikku exclaimed. Yuna and Tidus nodded.

"Let's go!" Tidus said, running off to beat the Gauntlet. The others ran behind.

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_Like? I hope so. More is on the way._


	3. Cross Dressphere

_Hey, thanks for reviewing my story! Here's chapter 3. Here's the introduction to the Crimson Spheres and Garment Grids for Tidus, kinda short and I apologize for that. I'll just make the next one long, lol._

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"That... is a lot of fire," Tidus commented as three Fire Elementals appeared in front of them. He drew his longsword and prepared to attack.

"Gullwings go!" Yuna shouted. Rikku and Paine drew their weapons and took fighting stances. Tidus hopped aside as a patch of fire appeared where he once was and leaped from his spot to slice down his attacker. The F.E. fell apart and shifted itself back together.

"This isn't working!" Tidus called out, dodging another fire blast.

"Let's try out the Black Mage dressphere," She said. Yuna leaped high and a glow overtook her body, stripping her of the Gunner outfit and replacing it with a tight black robe with a purple hat to match. Her old staff Nirvana appeared in her hand and a ring of fire surrounded her.

"Chill out," She joked, waving a hand in the air for a few seconds a spire of ice came out and nailed one of the F.E.'s.

"Good idea Yunie!" Rikku said, changing into the black mage outfit. Pain shook her head.

"I'll stick with this!" Paine stated. Her sword filled with water magic and she struck a F.E., causing it to dissolve into pyreflies. The last was taken care of courtesy of an Ice spell from Rikku. With all the monsters gone Tidus gave them a confused look.

"What... what was that?" He asked in amazement.

"Dresspheres!" Yuna exclaimed.

"They contain the power of warriors from the past," Paine explained. "We can use their power thanks to the Garment Grid that Shinra invented."

"That's amazing!" Tidus exclaimed. "Can I do that to?"

"Sure, just let me give you a Garment Grid," Rikku held out a small bracelet for him. "This has a copy of the Black Mage, Thief, Songstress, and Warrior dresspheres."

"Awesome!" Tidus was definitely excited. "But... how does it work?"

"Concentrate on the sphere you want and it'll do the rest, but you have to seriously focus on it," Yuna explained." And make sure you've decided what you want before you try to change."

"Alright," Tidus closed his eyes-

"Don't use it outside of battle!" Rikku exclaimed.

"Huh?" Tidus opened his eyes. "Um... okay."

"There's our goons," Paine pointed at Ormi and Logos in the distance.

"Let's go!" Yuna ran off with the others in tow. Eventually they reached a point where natural set of stone stairs brought them to a semi-tunnel.

"Never been this way before," Tidus commented.

"Shh," Rikku held a finger to her mouth. Tidus quickly covered his mouth and nodded. The tunnels seemed to go one forever, making them all impatient. Tidus focused on the tunnels they walked through, tunnels that he realized were man-made. Something seemed off, but there was nothing to do but continue.

"This one ain't no good," Ormi's voice came through the tunnel. Yuna led them into the final tunnel where theysaw the large and skinny duo facing a strange wall with carvings on it.

"Nor this one," Logos droned, holding a sphere out. Tidus exchanged a confused look with Yuna.

"What're you doing?" Yuna asked. The fat man gasped and turned around.

"Let's get outta here!" Ormi shouted, dropping a sphere in surprise.

"We must inform the boss," Logos stated, throwing a small orb to the ground. It promptly exploded into a large amount of smoke. When it cleared they were gone.

"Where'd they go?" Tidus asked, running to where they were and looking around.

"Hey they dropped something!" Rikku exclaimed, running over to a red sphere on the ground.

"Finders Keepers," Yuna grinned. Paine grabbed the sphere from Rikku, who protested childishly.

"It has a '9' on it," Paine stated as she examined it.

"Weird," Yuna commented. "I've never seen markings on a sphere before."

"Wonder if it has anything to do with this door," Tidus thought aloud. Paine tossed him the sphere and he placed it in one of the holes. One of the blue orbs on the carving glowed.

"Weird... " Yuna and Rikku said at the same time.

"Looks like we'll need more of these spheres," Paine droned. Tidus nodded in agreement.

"Let's go to the Youth League headquarters," Yuna stated. "Not like we can do anything else here."

"Yeah," Tidus agreed. The group turned around to find a tan man clad in armor walking in.

"Hey, long time no see," The man greeted. "Remember me?"

"Duh!" Rikku exclaimed. "You're Isaaru's brother... um... what was your name again?"

"Real tactful," Paine said sarcastically. Rikku smiled sheepishly.

"It's nice to see you _Maroda_," Yuna said, emphasizing on the man's name. Maroda'sexpression changed from slightly irritated to a smile.

"Glad to hear it," He said.

"How've you been?" Yuna asked.

"Well, I joined the Youth League," Maroda explained. "That's been keeping me pretty busy."

"We're sphere hunters now!" Rikku struck a pose. Maroda gave her an amused glance.

"That sounds great," Maroda replied, chuckling lightly. "Actually, Pecce's a sphere hunter too. He's the leader of the Kindergaurdians. Not that they've actually _found_ any spheres, but he tries."

"I see," Yuna nodded.

"Hey how's Isaaru?" Rikku interrupted. Maroda sighed and gestured towards the scenery.

"The Youth League discovered this place, we call it the Den of Woe," He continued as if Rikku's question hadn't been asked. "It was sealed around the time of Operation Mi'ihen."

"Why're you avoiding the question?" Tidus asked. Paine placed her fingers on her temple.

"Another person who talks without thinking, great," She groaned.

"I really don't think that's any of your business," The man turned to face Tidus, and with a glare. "I know you're Yuna's Guardian, but please refrain from butting into my family's affairs."

"Whoa!" Tidus raised his hands. "Sorry, I was just curious."

"I'm afraid this place is off-limits until we can conduct a more thorough investigation," Maroda turned away from them. "I'll have to ask you to leave." Tidus was about to comment but Yuna placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded her head in the direction of the exit. He sighed and nodded. The rest of the team followed as they left.

"You know... Maroda didn't seem surprised by Tidus's revival either," Rikku pointed out.

"Yeah, that was kind of weird, "Yuna agreed.

"Maroda knew me even less than Clasko," Tidus pointed out. "If Clasko didn't notice then it shouldn't be too surprising that Maroda didn't either."

"I... I guess that makes sense," Yuna still seemed a little unsure, but the leather clad woman nearby interrupted her thoughts.

"They come!" Paine exclaimed, pointing ahead. A large mushroom-like monster with three coyote's appeared in the distance. Yuna took out her guns, Rikku pulled out her daggers, Paine and Tidus unsheathed their swords.

"Now might be a good time to tryout a dressphere," Yuna suggested. Tidus nodded.

"What do you recommend?" He asked.

"Songstress has the 'Darkness Dance' ability so you can blind the monsters," Yuna suggested. "Fighting blind fiends will be easier."

Tidus nodded and closed his eyes. Alight surrounded him for a few seconds and when it died down Tidus now wore the garbs of a singer.

A _female_ singer.

"What the heck?!" Tidus shouted, blushing heavily. Yuna and Rikku burst out laughing while Paine smirked.

"That fits you better than I'd thought," Paine quipped. Tidus tugged the skirt he now wore, trying to loosen it a little.

"Wow Tidus, you have a really nice butt!" Yuna joked. Tidus's face turned even redder. He closed his eyes and a second later the glow surrounded him. When it faded he now wore male clothes. He had a large blue hat, a loose blue shirt with long sleeves and yellow frills on the end, and he wore tight black pants. In his right hand he carried a harp.

"Much better," Tidus sighed.

"Hey what happened?" Rikku asked. Tidus shrugged.

"I'm not sure, but I think this is the 'male' version of the Songstress," Tidus explained. "I'm a Bard now."

"Well you'd better get ready because here they come," Paine stated. The Bully Cap and it's companions were now within attacking distance. Tidus winked at Yuna before strumming his harp for a few notes. A large black cloud appeared on each of the monster's head, effectively blinding them.

"Booya!" Tidus exclaimed. "Get 'em girls."

And they did.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Well that was fun," Tidus was happily back in his normal clothes.

Yuna and Rikku giggled.

"Come on," Paine scolded. "We can make fun of the cross dresser later."

"I'm _not _a cross dresser!" Tidus exclaimed.

"Sure you aren't honey," Yuna pinched his cheek. "Let's go girls."

"Tidus included?" Rikku asked.

"Well if he's going to wear our clothes... " Yuna put on a thoughtful expression. They continued walking while Tidus protested.

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_Review please!_


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